Once a foe for rival Elmira, skilled Gazley now a Royal

Dustin Gazley heard a few catcalls and critics when he took the ice at Elmira's First Arena last weekend.

Fans of the Jackals have yet to forgive their former star for changing teams.

Gazley, about to start his first season with the Reading Royals, didn't seem to mind the background noise.

"I had some fans yelling at me and calling my name," he said. "It was pretty funny."

It's hard to blame Elmira for being upset. It can't be easy watching such a dynamic player head to a rival, especially when that rival is already basking in the glow of a Kelly Cup championship.

Gazley, perhaps more than any other player, is symbolic of Reading's embarrassment of riches.

The 5-9, 154-pound third-year pro was the ECHL's leading scorer as a rookie out of Michigan State. He produced 25 goals and 60 assists in 72 games, helping Elmira finish first in the Eastern Conference in 2011-12.

Two seasons later, he's wearing the Purple and Black.

Gazley's first appearance with the Royals happened to be against Elmira in a preseason game. It took some adjusting.

"It was definitely weird being on the other side," he said. "It's kind of confusing when you're out there and realizing you're on a different team, not the Jackals anymore."

Gazley split last season between Elmira and AHL Binghamton. He earned a call-up after the NHL lockout ended and spent the rest of the season at the higher level.

The Michigan native was a free agent this summer and elected to sign a two-way contract with AHL Hershey. He recognized that could mean getting sent to the Royals.

If he didn't make Hershey's roster, coming to Reading was a pretty good fallback.

No one knows the Royals better than Gazley, who has nine goals and 17 assists in 23 career games against them.

"They were always a hard team to play against and a hard-working team," Gazley said. "They've got a lot of skill guys too. It was always tough coming into this building and playing against them. It's good to be here."

Gazley was with Hershey during training camp but the Bears have an extremely deep roster that was too difficult to crack.

That meant an indefinite assignment to Reading.

Royals coach Larry Courville was happy to join forces with an old nemesis.

"He's a great kid; he has a great attitude and works hard," Courville said. "He just wants to win. He wants to get up to the American League.

"Some of these guys who lead the league in points, you'd think they'd have an attitude or feel comfortable. He's a kid that just keeps working. He's a 'Yes, Coach' kind of guy. He wants to get better."

Gazley is undersized and that's always been his biggest obstacle when trying to advance in the pro game. It hasn't held him back in the ECHL, where he has averaged 1.23 points per game.

The Royals, who have seven returning forwards from their championship team, added two of Elmira's best players, Gazley and Louie Caporusso, during the offseason.